Learning to ride on a MUni?



D

Dogbowl

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After 30 years of being off the one-wheel (I used to ride
when I was 14) I have been bitten again by the unicycle bug!
I went to a meeting of the NY Unicycle club and had an
excellent time trying out several unicycles (of course not
getting more than 2 feet, but I am undeterred!) What I
discovered, is that attempting to ride again seemed easier
on a muni with a very thick tire, (I achieved 3 whole
revolutions of the wheel!) and now I am shopping for a muni.
Question for anyone out there--is it a good idea to re-enter
the unicycle world with a muni (3" thick wheel), or should
one get a few more revolutions on a standard wheel first?
Just wondering...
PS-- thanks to all the nice people that day who let me try
their unicycles, and gave me tons of help! :cool:

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dogbowl - New Unicyclist--I keep falling down

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It depends entirely on what type of riding you plan to do.
If you see MUni in your future, I would go with a fat tire.
Why learn again on a small tire and have to adjust to a
different size wheel ? I find my 24x3 MUni much easier to
ride than my 24 with a 2.1 inch tire

--
Krashin'Kenny - Crash Tested

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Thanks for the reply.
It's amazing (at least for a beginner/re-beginner like me to see) what a
difference the fat tire makes. I definetly want to get a MUni based
simply on the fact that that fat tire gave me an extra boost of
confidence in the balance department. I'm also sort of a big guy (6'3)
and I have this idea that a thinner wheel is going to bend into an oval
before I accomplish my first 50 feet. MUnis look and feel tougher--I'm
not sure I'll get a chance to ride into the forest any time soon, but if
that fat old tire can keep me going, I'll definetly head in that
direction....:D

--
dogbowl - New Unicyclist--I keep falling down

"Got an urge, got a surge, and it's out of control now. Uncontrollable
urge I want to tell you all about it." --DEVO
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dont get a gazz if you think you'll be spending a lot of time on the
asphalt before going offroad...from what i hear, they are just awful on
the pavement. get a duro leopard or something. or ask john foss or john
childs, they are the experts at everything :)

-grant

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Theres the Dyno Fireball for street use. I don't think you
said which muni tire you had ridden on. The gazz always
feels stable especially at lower pressures, but the Dyno
Fireball is supposed to be great for street use and is wide.
It has no nobs. Perhaps consider that. Please note, I
haven't ridden a Dyno Fireball.

--
The Munieer - Mountaineer + Uni = MUnieer

Rod Wylie

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Buy a MUni if you want to ride offroad, not because it seems
easier to ride right now.

My guess is that the extra momentum of the MUni wheel
helped stabilize you when trying to ride. The downside is
that the same wheel will feel sluggish going down the road,
and won't turn as easily as a road tire. MUnis generally
have longer cranks that give you more leverage, but make
spinning fast jerkier.

As for a non-Muni wheel deforming: Just make sure you get a
good unicycle (MUni or not) meant for the type of riding you
want to do, and you'll be fine. A $100 unicycle with a steel
rim won't last. Unless the wheel is hand built, it will
probably benefit from tensioning and truing by a good
wheelbuilder at a local bike shop.

Ken
 
On Wed, 19 May 2004 22:21:55 -0500, "dogbowl" wrote:

>I definetly want to get a MUni based simply on the fact
>that that fat tire gave me an extra boost of confidence in
>the balance department.

I agree with Krashin'Kenny, buy the unicycle based on what
you think you will like doing with it. Your statement quoted
above is NOT a good reason to buy a MUni, since soon enough
you will balance OK anyways.

Of course, by all means buy a MUni if you want to MUni.

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
--
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tennisgh22 wrote:
> *dont get a gazz if you think you'll be spending a lot of
> time on the asphalt before going offroad...from what i
> hear, they are just awful on the pavement. get a duro
> leopard or something.*
People have been tricking you. The gazzaloddi performs as
well as any other 3" wide tire on the pavement. The only
drawback is that it costs so much, and it wears out on
concrete. MUni tires are not ideal for pavement, but they do
work fine. Don't believe those foolish long cranked people
who tell you otherwise.

--
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If you know you are going to be using the uni for MUni, get
a MUni. If you aren't sure, get a el cheapo uni (like a
Torker). If you do get the MUni, take off the knobby tire
until you start taking it on trails. Replace it with a
slick, I just got a hookworm and I love it.

Right now I have a friend learning on my trials. I think
he likes it because the wide tire is more stable then my
free style.

Daniel

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Munis are great general purpose unis. I use mine a lot as a
pavement (sidewalk) commuter.

For tyres, I like the halo contra (Dura in the states I think)-
a bit cheaper and lighter than the Gazz; after a few weeks
on concrete it becomes a nice 3" slick and lasts for ages.

If you are going to use it as a general purpose uni it could
be worth going for the shorter cranks- I'm on 150's (6")
which I find are a good compromise for both roads and off
road. If I used it purely to commute I'd be tempted to use
125's (5").

--
onewheeldave - Semi Skilled Unicyclist

"He's also been known to indulge in a spot of flame juggling - but it's
the Muni that really fires him up."

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I learned on a Pashley 26" MUni. Another tire to use on
pavement on a 24" is a Hookworm 24x2.5". I haven't tried one
yet, but there's one in my basement rarin' to go. On the 26"
I used a Conti tire for a while after shredding the tire on
concrete. The nice knobbies have a softer rubber for better
traction off road, and when you are learning (relearning?)
turns, idling, and the lot, they basically just get torn off
in little pieces. So they are expensive, wear out fast, and
get in the way of learning.

--
U-Turn - Member of Generation XO

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My brother inlaw is learning to unicycle and is interested
in muni and I set him up with a nimbus with a dyno fireball,
the nimbus muni is a great intro muni it has a well built
wheel and comes with 150mm cranks which are probably better
for a beginner or someone who is relearning than 170s and
the fireball is an almost slick tire which is better for
learning and street riding and with the fireball it was just
over $200.

--
Tellurider - Dan Wilson
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1. I LOVE my Hookworm (on AND off road). I run it with high
pressure and it performs as well as (or better) than the
Gazz for me.

2. Using a more narrow tire IS good. The narrow tires also
have a smaller circumference - and that means you will
have to work harder to make it over bumps an obsticles
(unless you're hopping). Working harder is good because
it will make you faster (you have to pedal faster to keep
up) and more stable (it requires a bit more skill). Then,
when you switch to a 2.5-3.0 tire, you will fine riding
offroad is muuuuch easier (almost boring). Narrow tires
can also allow you to go through sticky (clay based) mud
while other municycles lock up.

3. Try different things. There are people (like Rowan) that
will call you foolish for using longer cranks - and there
are people that will swear the Gazz is God's tire for
municycling - having never tried other tires and setups.
Disregard their invalid advice - and try out different
setups until you find what is right for you. The truth
is, when you have experienced different setups, you won't
find "what's right for you" but rather "what's right for
you for the circumstances" of the ride.

4. Try different pressures on each tire. I found that lower
pressure in most situations sucks. (I can write a long
list why if requested).

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onewheeldave wrote:
> *For tyres, I like the halo contra (Dura in the states I
> think)- a bit cheaper and lighter than the Gazz; after a
> few weeks on concrete it becomes a nice 3" slick and lasts
> for ages. *

uhoh. my kh24 is coming in a couple weeks with that same
kind of tire, (i think its the duro leopard 24x3 you are
talking about when you say halo contra), and i was planning
to use it for everything-- commuting, off road, & maybe a
bit of trials. Is all the commuting gonna make the tire so
"slick" that its not gonna work off road anymore? i can see
how it would be good to have a "nice slick 3" wheel" if you
were only on the pavement, but once you go offroad....

should i buy two different wheels, and just switch everytime
i go to the off road trails? or should i just not do a lot
of rubber-scraping techniques on the pavement, like turning
on one spot?

-grant

--
tennisgh22

The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a
capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety
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If you used to ride 30 years ago, the riding will come back
to you relatively quickly. In other words, you'll soon be
able to handle whatever you want to ride.

So the question is, where/how do you want to ride?

A MUni is not a bad thing for riding around NYC if
that's where you
live. You don't need an aggressive knobby for pavement, but
a big tire will eat up bumps better than a little
skinny one. There are lots of choices in that area.

What you probably don't need is a heavy duty MUni with
24x3" tire and long cranks. Unless your goal is very
rough terrain.

My most recent acquisition is a 29" MUni. Great cruising
machine! The Nanoraptor tire on it has a relatively light
pattern of ridges for offroad, and a center ridge for
pavement. Unlike smaller tires, this center ridge hasn't
bothered me at all though mostly I've been on dirt with it.
This would be a great unicycle if you're into going places.
It can still handle all sorts of technical terrain, just not
the very hardest stuff.

If you want more versatility, consider a 24" or 26" wheel.
These will be easier for learning (or re-learning) idling
and some basic tricks on.

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tennisgh22 wrote:
> *should i buy two different wheels, and just switch
> everytime i go to the off road trails? or should i just
> not do a lot of rubber-scraping techniques on the
> pavement, like turning on one spot? -grant *

I have different tires that I switch out - but I have found
that the Hookworm has great traction off-road and awesome
durability. The rolling resistance is so low, that it makes
me feel like I could and *should* be pedalling twice as
fast. I have only found knobby tires useful in mud (where a
3.0 tire would lock up anyway). If you don't mind "the bald
look" a bald Duro tire (with knobbies on the sides to get
you out of ruts) will work fine - at least until things get
wet. I haven't used it in deep slimy mud yet, but the only
time my Hookworm seemed to fail was hopping across rocks in
the stream. Once it got wet, and was coupled with my
insufficient hopping skill, it got, well, "slick." :)

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tennisgh22 wrote:
> *
>
> uhoh. my kh24 is coming in a couple weeks with that same
> kind of tire, (i think its the duro leopard 24x3 you are
> talking about when you say halo contra), and i was
> planning to use it for everything-- commuting, off road, &
> maybe a bit of trials. Is all the commuting gonna make the
> tire so "slick" that its not gonna work off road anymore?
> i can see how it would be good to have a "nice slick 3"
> wheel" if you were only on the pavement, but once you go
> offroad....
>
> should i buy two different wheels, and just switch
> everytime i go to the off road trails? or should i just
> not do a lot of rubber-scraping techniques on the
> pavement, like turning on one spot?
>
> -grant *
I find the bald contra to be fine offroad, expect when it's
wet or muddy, in which case it's useless for anything
remotely extreme.

If you're going to be riding off road in mud it'd be worth
considering an extra wheel.

--
onewheeldave - Semi Skilled Unicyclist

"He's also been known to indulge in a spot of flame juggling - but it's
the Muni that really fires him up."

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Wow! Thanks everyone for the input and the advice! It
definetly makes my unicycle search more interesting and fun.

--
dogbowl - New Unicyclist--I keep falling down

"Got an urge, got a surge, and it's out of control now. Uncontrollable
urge I want to tell you all about it." --DEVO
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